Based on the same publicly available scientific information,
the World
Bank issues a report calling for prompt action to ward off global
warming, a coalition of the world's
largest investors
calls on governments to act promptly to ward off global warming, the United
Nations reports that greenhouse gas levels reached a new record, and eighteen United States Senators
(nine from each party) write a letter to President Obama calling on him to
approve expanded fossil fuel exploitation without regard for global
warming.

At the same time students
at Harvard are voting to divest from fossil fuels, and grassroots groups from British
Columbia to Palm
Beach, Florida, to London
are demonstrating in solidarity with the Tar Sands Blockade in East Texas,
where that two months long non-violent direct action is aimed at stopping
construction of the Keystone
XL Pipeline that is designed to set off "the biggest carbon
bomb on the planet" (the Canadian tar sands), amplifying the catastrophic
impact of global warming.

On November 18, thousands of demonstrators
paraded around the White House, calling on the President to block
the Keystone XL pipeline, only to get more coverage
from Canadian
media than American media, where little was heard from the mainstream that was
busy pursuing Twinkies, with CNN
an exception.

TransCanada
Pipeline Imports Canadian Oil

The current focal point for all these activities is the
TransCanada construction project in East Texas, where the Tar Sands Blockade
has been stepping up its tactics to slow the pipeline's progress -- or as UPI
reports it: "Protests mar Keystone XL build in Texas" over a story that makes
no effort to sort out facts from claims.

When President Obama put the northern section of the
Keystome Pipeline on hold last March, he also signaled his bureaucracy to let
the southern leg begin.
TransCanada began construction last August and when the work crossed
into Texas in September, the Tar Sands Blockade set up a treehouse network with
nine tree-sitters in the right-of-way for the pipeline, vowing to block
construction until the pipeline was cancelled.

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The White House is expected to decide whether Keystone XL
can be built some time in the next month or so, and all it takes to proceed is
a Presidential signature. For
President Obama, this decision
will be a clear signal defining his real priorities: stopping the rise of the
oceans and healing the planet, as he campaigned, or settling for short term
economic gains with unknown long term consequences.

Baptist Church Sides With Tar Sands
Blockade

In Nacogdoches, Texas, the current front line between the
Tar Sands Blockade and TranaCanada's construction workers and private police,
the blockaders have been surprised by the appearance of a new ally -- the Austin
Heights Baptist Church that has extended hospitality to the protestors. The story
reported by The Baptist Standard
included these passages:

"Our earth-care ministry group has been
involved for years in environmental projects--recycling, environmental education
discussion groups, looking at how our church can reduce its carbon footprint,"
Pastor Kyle Childress said".

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"These
are mostly kids in their 20s who are a long way from home. There are a few
Texans, but most are from out-of-state--places like New York, California and
Chicago. They are urban, secular young people for the most part," Childress
said. "A handful of them are churchgoing Christians, but most aren't. Most see
the church as part of the problem.""

During one encounter, Childress talked to a 20-something protester about the
pressure many churches feel to incorporate the latest technology into worship
in order to appeal to young people.

"He told me, "If more churches were on the front lines of things that matter,
they wouldn't have any problem getting young people to church"'"

Biggest Action Yet in Two Month
Blockade

On November 19, over 100 protestors stepped up their
non-violent efforts to slow construction, shutting down two sites for most of
the day. Local police also stepped
up their violent tactics to remove the protestors, eventually arresting 11. Cherokee County sheriff's deputies
pepper sprayed and used torture techniques on protestors who chained themselves
to heavy equipment. Deputies
violently dragged away those they arrested. Deputies pepper sprayed protestors who were just holding
signs, one of them a 75-year-old woman, as CNN
reported.

The following day, responding in part to police violence,
local supporters in Nacogdoches joined with blockaders for a rally and
candlelight
vigil at Cherokee County Jail, where some protestors are still being held
with high bail on
extreme felony charges. Combined
bail for the 11 arrested is
$132,250.

One reason for strong local support from Nacogdoches is that
Keystone XL threatens local water resources. According to a Tar Sands Blockade news release:

Today's
Day of Action [Nov. 19] is in
solidarity with local landowners struggling to protect their water and land
from TransCanada's toxic tar sands pipeline.

Keystone
XL would cross 16 large rivers in Texas, including the site of today's latest
tree blockade, the scenic Angelina River. Nestled amongst 50 foot pine trees in
forested bottomlands, the tree blockaders have settled in for a long standoff
in protection of their fresh drinking and agricultural water. The waters
downstream feed into the popular Sam Rayburn Reservoir, the largest lake
entirely within the state of Texas, renowned for its angling opportunities and
competitions.

18 U.S. Senators Happy to Risk the Planet

The White House has not yet responded to the letter from 18
Senators urging the President
to approve
the Keystone pipeline as soon as possible. The nine Democrats (left) and nine Republicans are mostly from
oil states:

Max Baucus (D-Mont.) John
Hoeven (R-N.D.)

Jon Tester (D-Mont.) Mitch
McConnell (R-Ky.)

Kent Conrad (D-N.D.)
Kay
Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas)

Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Lisa
Murkowski (R-Alaska)

Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) David
Vitter (R-La.)

Jim Webb (D-VA)
John
Barrasso (R-Wyo.)

Mark Begich (D-Alaska) Mike
Johanns (R-Neb.

Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) Richard
Lugar (R-Ind.)

Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) Rob
Portman (R-Ohio)

Despite on the climate science available to them today, whether
they've looked at it or not, they've decided that it's in the best interest of
the United States to ask the President to commit a crime against humanity.

They're rationale, as Investors.com
puts it, with two false assertions to support the conclusion:

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